Craft Corner: Let's Make A Pretty Change-By-The-Season Centerpiece!
What could be prettier than a colorful candlelit decoration to grace your dining room table or coffee table! And what's even better is that you can easily change this one for every single holiday or season! You can make it as expensive or inexpensive as you wish depending on the materials chosen. It is super easy to make, no crafting experience required! All items are available at your local hobby/craft store or large discount store.
When you are ready to change decorating themes for the next season, just choose different silk flowers and perhaps a different candle! Once you do this for an entire year, you will have amassed quite a collection of bow-tied silk flowers that you can mix and match as you wish!
You Will Need:
1 flat mirror (mine is 16" diameter but you can use about any size). Consider looking for an unusual mirror designed for hanging on a wall at an antique store, thrift store or garage sale! You can also find candle holders and even antique ribbons and lace at such places.
Just be sure to remove the hanger from the back of the mirror. (To protect your table, you might wish to glue a square or circle of felt to the back of the mirror).
1 candle holder
1 candle in desired color to fit holder
1 bag of glass "marbles" in neutral color (clear, light green, etc.)
1 stem of small silk flowers in desired seasonal color
1 large stem silk flower
Spool lace OR spool ribbon in neutral color (white, cream, taupe, etc) or holiday colors (check the clearance section to look for inexpensive remnants!)
Scissors
Felt and craft glue (optional)
Lay mirror flat and face-up on working surface. Place candle holder with candle on center of mirror. Arrange several glass marbles on mirror.
Cut spool lace or ribbon into 12" strips with diagonal edges.
Cut several bunches or individual small silk flowers off stem, leaving at least 1" of stem to work with.
Tie strip of lace or ribbon around stem of each flower into a bow, just below the flower. (Optional: if you know how to tie florist bows, make one of those out of a longer strip of lace for the large flower). Otherwise, just tie a larger regular bow out of a longer strip of lace for the large flower.
Lay large flower with bow next to the candle holder. Scatter smaller flowers with bows on mirror between glass marbles. Start with a small amount of flowers and add more until it pleases your eye.
As your centerpiece develops, you might want to add other "pretties" that you have lying around. Let your imagination guide you! For example, in my centerpiece I used old crystal cabinet knobs in place of the glass marbles and I used two different types of ribbon and lace. I also decided to add a piece of lace laid under the edge of the candle holder to make it look like it was sitting on a lace doily. Play away!
Article submitted by: Sheila Talley, ButYouDontLookSick.com, © 2007
